Man-lift.



0. A. NUBSON.

PATENTED FEB. 26, 1907.

MAN LIFT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31, 1906.

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MAN-LIFT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 26, 1907.

Application filed May 31,1906. Serial No. 319.650.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLE A. NUBsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kensett, in the county of \North and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Im-v provements in Man-Lifts; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is an improved man-lift or hand-elevator by means of which a person may elevate himself to the top of a grain-elevator or other structure to oil, examine, or do other work on the same; and my invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a man-lift or hand-elevator embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same, taken on the plane indicated by the line (L a of Fig. 1; and Figs. 3 and 4 are detail sectional views.

The vertical guide-rails 1 are suitably supported at one side of the structure where my improved man-lift is employed. At the upper ends of said guide-rails are brackets 2, connected together by cross-bars 3, on which are the bearings 4 for the axle 5 of a sheave or pulley 6. A bar 7 is here shown as secured on the centers of the cross-bars 3. Be tween the lower ends of the rails 1 is a fixed device 8, to which the-lower end of a handrope 9 is attached, the upper end of the said hand-rope being attached to the bar 7. On one side of one of the guide-rails 1 is a raceway 10, which is vertically disposed and in which travels a weight 11. The car 12 or platform engages and is guided by the guiderails 1. A rope 13 is connected to the said car or platform, as hereinafter specifically described, passes over the pulley 6, and is attached to the weight 11. The latter counterbalances the car or platform.

The car or platform has an upwardly-extending frame 14, here shown as composed of a pair of upright pieces 15, a cross-bar 16 connecting their upper ends, a cross-bar 17 connecting their lower ends, and crossed braces 18 also connecting said uprights near their lower ends. The platform or bottom of the car on which the person stands projects laterally from the lower end of the frame 14 and is here shown as comprising a pair of outstanding bars 19 and a plurality of slats 20, which are secured on and connect said outstanding bars. A pair of braces 21 connect said bottom or platform to the uprights 15 of the frame 14. On the upper and lower sides of the frame 14 are secured plates 22 23, which project outwardly therefrom, so that their outer ends are disposed on opposite sides of the guide-rails 1.

The plates 22, which are on one side of the frame 14, have bearings for a brake-shaft 24, said brake-shaft having a crank 25 in its central portion and having brake devices 26 at its ends to bear against the guide-rails. The crank of this brake-shaft is connected to the rope 13, and the latter by its tension thereon normally keeps the brake device of said shaft out of engagement with the guide-rails, so that the car may be readily moved upwardly or downwardly between the guide-rails. I provide springs 26 to automatically turn said brake-shaft, and thereby apply the brakes in the event that the rope 13 should break. Said springs are here shown as coiled retractor-springs connected to the crank portion of the brake shaft and to the platform by means of rods 27. Said rods pass through the bars 19 and are provided with adjustingnuts 28, by means of which the springs 26 may be appropriately tensioned, as will be understood. I also provide a foot-brake 29, which is mounted at one side of the frame 14 near the lower end thereof and is provided with a edal 30. A spring 31, which bears under the pedal, normally engages the footbrake with the guide-rail 1, approximate thereto. The operator on the platform or car by pressing said pedal with one foot may keep the foot-brake disengaged from the guide-rails while the car is moving. To permit the foot-brake to stop the car at any point, he moves his foot from the pedal, as will be understood. To reduce friction between the car and the guide-rails, I provide antifriction-rollers 32 33 near the upper and lower ends of the frame 14, as shown.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, operation, and advantages of the invention will be readily under stood Without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion,

and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus. described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A man-lift or hand-elevator, compris ing, in combination with guide-rails, a car operating between said guide-rails, said car having plates on opposite sides thereof, the outer ends of which are disposed on opposite sides of the guide-rails, certain of said plates having bearings, a brake-shaft journaled in said bearings, having a crank in its central portion and brake devices at its ends to bear against the guiderails, springs to apply said brake devices, a pulley, a rope thereon hav ing one end connected to said crank, and a weight attached to the upper end of said brake and serving to counterbalance the car and to normally keep the brake-shaft in disengaged position, substantially as described.

2. A man-lift or hand-elevator, comprising, in combination with guide-rails, a car operating between said guide-rails, said car having near its upper and lower ends guideplates on opposite sides thereof, the outer ends of which are disposed on opposite sides of the guide-rails, certain of said plates having bearings, a brake-shaft journaled in the bearings of the upper guide-plates, having a crank in its centralportion and brake devices at its ends to bear against the guide-rails, springs to apply said brake devices, a pulley, a rope thereon having one end connected to said crank, and a weight attached to the upper end of said brake and serving to counterbalance the car and to normally keep the brake-shaft in disengaged position, said car being further provided with a manually-operated brake-shaft journaled in the bearings of the lower guide-plates, having brake devices to engage the guide-rails and operating means, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OLE A. NUBSON. lVitnesses:

O. A. MmKELsoN, B. A. RINGHAM. 

